It all depends on what size you are after. I have some very heavy duty gear for when I go the Miss river and get after some serious trohpy hunting. Reel in a 40mplus blue in 7 MPH current and it is understandable why people have the heavy stuff.

When I go to the local lake or farm ponds and fish I take along the light gear. light medium sized rods and reels and 10 to 14 lb test line.

It all depends on what size you are after. I have some very heavy duty gear for when I go the Miss river and get after some serious trohpy hunting. Reel in a 40mplus blue in 7 MPH current and it is understandable why people have the heavy stuff.
When I go to the local lake or farm ponds and fish I take along the light gear. light medium sized rods and reels and 10 to 14 lb test line.

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Bearcat got it right. I sometimes use the lighter spinning tackle in the Tennessee River if I'm fishing slack water. Lighter tackle and very little weight creates a more "natural" bait presentation which means more bites and more hook-ups. You can get your heart (and line) broken but I've landed up to 30 lb. blues on a light spinning rod with 10 or 12 lb. test line. You just have to be patient.

Now, I do not fish with baseball bats but I like something with some backbone. I have a fishin buddy who uses older, smaller, fiberglass poles and to tell the truth he has more fun with 'em. Loses a few more than I do but he just loves the fight. And he has sure had some epic battles, you ought to hear him talk to 'em on the way in! LOL!

I use ugly stik catfish and a Tiger for flatheads. I do think that the Uglycat doesnt have the backbone to pull a 40lb flathead out of cover. But the tiger will have no problem. I like to play it safe. If youre fishing flatheads in wood I wouldnt go lighter than the uglycat. If fishing channels A medium action ugly stick would be a good rod.

I have a wide range of rods all the way up to a 14 foot Fenwick surf rod but I prefer ultra-lights. I use a 12 foot B&M Cadillac crappie rod with a spinning reel on it most of the time. I am not good enough yet to find the big ones I mostly catch 6 pounds and under and they are a blast on an ultra-light rig.

The blue in my avitar weighted 51lb. I caught it last july while fishing the Miss river below the Alton dam. Was using a 9/0 gamkatsu octopuss hook . Baited up with a Skipjack gut pocket anchored with 4 OZ of lead. Water depth was around 40 ft. I was using a tidwater 30l reel and a St croix classic cat 80H rod. loaded with 20/80 power pro using a 50 lb mono leader.